Jill Rappaport Donates Meds to Southampton Animal Shelter

Hamptons resident, broadcaster and animal advocate Jill Rappaport dropped by Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation in Hampton Bays on Wednesday to deliver 1,000 doses of ParaDefense, a brand new monthly flea-preventative medication from CapInnoVet.

The medication, which was donated by CapInnoVet, will be given to 20 recently rescued dogs and a number of cats that have just arrived by private jet from Puerto Rico, as well as anyone who adopts dogs and cats from SASF.

“We wanted to kick [the donation] off here because it’s a stellar example of how an animal shelter should be,” Rappaport said of SASF, adding, “This is what I call the Canyon Ranch of Shelters.” But even with such a giving community and fabulous shelter, a little incentive can help boost adoptions. “If you can’t get people in, you can’t get animals out,” Rappaport said explaining the need to encourage adoption.

Along with the joy of giving a loving, forever home to a dog or cat, SASF hopes the ParaDefense donation will be an added incentive to adopt from the shelter. Each adopting family will receive a summer supply of the medication for their new pet, which should remove a significant cost burden and ensure each animal is flea free as it settles in with new owners.

The first pets to receive ParaDefense will be those just rescued from Puerto Rico as part of Operation Puppy Love—a massive, multi-shelter rescue effort that brought 100 dogs and a few cats from a dire situation in Puerto Rico to the New York area, where they’ll have a much greater chance of finding forever homes and people to care for them.

“We take exceptional care of all animals that come to the shelter,” SASF Board President Jonathan McCann said, noting that Rappaport arranged for Southampton Animal Shelter to be the first of many around the country to receive a ParaDefense donation. “She has for all these years been a staunch supporter of the shelter,” McCann added.

ParaDefense the first generic imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen product, available nationwide through shelters and veterinary clinics, with the same active ingredients as Bayer Healthcare, LLC’s Advantage II, but sold as a lower cost option for price-sensitive pet owners.

Painful, itchy and uncomfortable for dogs, flea bites can also lead to infections, dermatitis, blood loss, anemia and tape worms—none of which dogs, cats or people want. Regularly and properly applied monthly flea preventatives like ParaDefense will ensure dogs and cats remain free of the parasites, even while they enjoy time playing outdoors.

During her visit to SASF, Rappaport socialized with resident dogs and cats, including the satos—or street dogs—that arrived at Westhampton’s Gabreski Airport on a Gulfstream G5 jet, thanks to a kind donor, on Saturday, February 13.

Following a period of socialization and veterinary care, those dogs and cats will be available for adoption at SASF and other shelters that took place in Operation Puppy Love, including Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF) in East Hampton.

Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation is located at 102 Old Riverhead Road West in Hampton Bays. Call 631-728-PETS (7387) or visit southamptonanimalshelter.com for more info about adoption, donation and volunteering.